QUESTION: What are the best countries for biodiesel?
Josh Tickell: Currently Malaysia and Brazil offer the highest potentialfor growth. Malaysia is poised for a large palm oil market, Brazil forsoybeans.

QUESTION: Are the negatives overstated for biodiesel? Clear-cutting, soil erosion, etc.?
Josh Tickell: To some degree, yes. These are the same negativesassociated with any monocrop agricultural system. To grow large amountsof biodiesel crops will require more of what we do now in agriculture.Thus, there is potential for more clear-cutting (in Brazil andMalaysia), soil erosion, letting go of heirloom seeds and so forth.This conversation leads into the question of what the future ofbiodiesel is - which I believe will be in the cultivation algae indeserts.

QUESTION: What crops can you use for biodiesel?
Josh Tickell: Any oilseed crop. This includes over 1,100 species.Included are soybeans, sunflower, canola, mustard (there is a big pushfor mustard from US researchers), palm, coconut, safflower, hemp,jatropha caucus. Also animal fat can be used, as well as used cookingoil from restaurants.

QUESTION: Thanks for this chat Mr. Tickell! How is your documentary going?
Josh Tickell: Thank you for asking. It is very close to being done interms of the creative editing and script. Next phase will be cleaningup the footage, the sound and preparing the final film print. Godwilling, we may premiere as early as September this year. We havesecured interest from major film festivals and major distributors so weare very hopeful for a 200-1000 screen release in theaters during theelection campaign in '08

QUESTION:Is there enough land in the world that can be converted to crops toproduce enough biodiesel to fuel our transportation needs?
JoshTickell: Yes and no. Let me explain. No using current croppingtechniques. On the hopeful side in the US, using fallow and set asidelands and converting some of our export crop land, we could maybe grow25% of our current 80 billion gallons of diesel fuel. The US is in aparticularly good position. Most other countries fall in the 5-15%range. Now, let's take a brief look at how much land is required togrow fuel. Currently, we can get 50 gallons (soybean) to 200 gallons(mustard multicrop) per acre per year. That's not much fuel, but it hasa better energy balance than petroleum. If we look at algae, whichlooks like the breakthrough crop for biodiesel, we can grow upwards of1,000 gallons of fuel per acre per year. Using that technology, the UScan grow all 4-5 quadrillion btu's of fuel in about 10% of the Sonorandesert. This opens up fuel production to the desert nations in theMiddle East, China, Africa and Australia.

QUESTION: What are the best feed stocks for biodiesel? Can we make biodiesel from wood chips?
Josh Tickell: Feedstock choice really should depend on location in theworld. For the US, we should look toward canola and mustard (similarlatitudes = similar crops). For Malaysia and Asia, the feedstock ofchoice would be palm and coconut. Africa and India need crops that holdthe soil like jatropha bushes. Again, this is using currentstate-of-the-art options.

QUESTION: At what oil price does biodiesel become economically viable?
Josh Tickell: Depends on how you look at the economics. If you're justlooking at current markets, you need to be able to produce biodieselfor between 30%-50% of retail value of fuel. That game, however, isflawed. The only way for biofuels to become economically viable is thatthey be given all of the same considerations and subsidies asconventional petroleum. In this scenario, biodiesel is actually about50% of the cost of petroleum.

QUESTION:Are you afraid that government favoring ethanol from corn will lock inthat particular energy source, even if it is not the best one?
Josh Tickell: I think all energies are transitional in nature. We needto look at energy as an expression of the needs of society. As ourenergy needs increase, so should our ability to produce. Logically,ethanol from corn is technology developed largely by Henry Ford in theearly 1900's. Here's my hopeful perspective: we endorse ethanol fromcorn. We can't grow enough corn fast enough. That prompts research anddevelopment into cellulosic ethanol production. Production plants of ethanol convert to this new technology. We produce via cellulosic technology. More ethanol becomes is available.

QUESTION: What is the estimated market demand for Biodiesel in USA both in volume terms and Value terms.
How is the demand expected to shape up in the next three-five years?
What are the US government initiatives to promote the growth of the Biodiesel industry?
Josh Tickell: Volume currently is between 75-100 million gallons. Everygallon produced is consumed so demand is somewhat inelastic. The valueof the industry is still very, very small - less than half a billiondollars. Three to five year growth is expected to be exponential.Within half a decade we could easily hit half a billion gallons ofbiodiesel production in the US. We currently have a one penny perpercentage tax rebate for biodiesel. 1% biodiesel in 99% diesel willyield a 1 penny per gallon tax rebate. This is helpful, but is notcomparable to the overall support the petroleum industry receives vialand grants, protection, subsidies, law preferences, and environmentalexemptions.

QUESTION: Thank you for taking our questions.
I am very impressed with your research on biodiesel. Have you beengetting more calls about biodiesel since the American gasoline pricesare going so high?
Josh Tickell: You're welcome. Yes. The interest is proportional to the price of gasoline. ;-)

QUESTION: Can you buy a biodiesel car from a company yet or do you have to make them yourself?
Josh Tickell: Any diesel vehicle or engine can run on biodiesel. Nomodifications are necessary. For example, I have not used gasoline ordiesel fuel for 10 years. I currently drive a TDI (turbo directinjection) diesel 2002 VW Golf. No modifications were needed to run thecar on 100% biodiesel. AND... you can blend biodiesel and diesel fuelin any ratio with one another.

QUESTION: Do most fans of biodiesel seem to be environmentalists or is it becoming more mainstream in the US now?
Josh Tickell: It began with environmentalists and farmers. Now we havean interesting mix of the former business people, ex-government hawks,national security proponents and celebrities.

QUESTION:I read the article on your site that Rudolf Diesel made his engine torun on plant oils. Why did it change to polluting petro?
JoshTickell: Great question. Rudolf Diesel's body was found floating in theEnglish Channel before he completed the licensing of his engine aroundthe world. His vision was left incomplete. With the onset of WWI andthen WWII, petroleum was the fuel of choice. It was fast, cheap andeasy. The Allies won not so much because of their superior militarymight but because they had continuous supplies of fuel. Vegetable oilas a fuel was almost forgotten.

QUESTION:You mentioned Brazil as a growth area for biodiesel. This to my mindimplies that more deforestation may take place there to serve thisindustry. How do you respond to this? And also, what is the take of"environmental community" on biodiesel?
Josh Tickell: Brazil findsitself in a difficult position. First, it has used agriculture tobecome independent of foreign oil imports. Now it has a super strongagricultural backbone. Others (US and Europe) are importing soybeansfrom Brazil and they may import finished product (vegetable oil orbiodiesel as well as ethanol). Brazil will have to be very carefulabout managing its forest resources. The temptation to clearcut forforeign capital will be extreme. Let's hope they put as much money intoforward thinking research and development today as they did in the1970s when they created their biofuel program.

QUESTION: Are biodiesel cars workable? Can you fill up like a petro station or do you have to take your own fuel?
Josh Tickell: The cars are just diesel cars. (See previous question andanswer). The filling up of the cars will depend on where you are in theworld and what is available to you. In the US, we now have 600 fuelstations that sell biodiesel (a small percentage of the 140,000 gasstations in the country). In Germany there are 1800 fuel stations thatsell biodiesel. If you live somewhere that there are no pumps, thenyes, you will have to make your own biodiesel and carry it in fuelcontainers as we began doing in the US in the early 1990's. (Note thefuel is not flammable, so it is safe to carry.)

QUESTION: Is there pollution with biodiesel?
Josh Tickell: Yes. I will answer this question in two parts - first allthe pollutants EXCEPT CO2 then - I will answer the CO2 issue in thenext question. Biodiesel reduces the pollution found in diesel exhaust.We see a 60-70% reduction in visible soot, a 60% reduction in CarbonMONOXIDE, a 75% reduction in cancer-causing polycyclic aromatichydrocarbons (average), a 99% reduction in SO2 (Sulfur Dioxide), and nonet change in NOX (Oxides of Nitrogen). Overall, biodiesel reduces smogforming gasses by 50%.

QUESTION: Does using biodiesel in place of gas help combat climate change?
Josh Tickell: Yes. At the moment, biodiesel produced in the US usingconventional cropping methods (including the use of petroleumfertilizers) reduces CO2 emissions by 78%. That's net CO2reduction.Meaning, biodiesel still produces CO2 at the tailpipe. But in the "lifecycle" of the fuel, the crops grown to produce the fuel will consume78% of the CO2. By producing biodiesel more carefully, we can get thereduction down to 100%. In Europe, they have successfully grownbiodiesel where CO2 is being fixed into soil and the reduction is 100%.

QUESTION: Will biodiesel work for home heating too?
Josh Tickell: Yes. Minor modifications may be needed to the furnaces.And the fuel tanks that held the old heating oil either have to besteam cleaned or replaced. For home heating oil is notoriously dirtyand gunky.

QUESTION:I like the Q & A about Brazil and soybeans. On a relatedtopic...isn't there a shortage of corn in Mexico because of the countrygrowing crops for ethanol?
Josh Tickell: Good question. I thinkthis is a perspective question - it depends on how you view what is the"cause" and what is the "effect". In a big scheme perspective, thecause of Mexico not having corn is that they don't grow much corn thereanymore. They are a net importer of corn. If the US begins to lower itsexports of corn and other crops (as is very likely with biofuels) therewill be trade disruptions. Again, this is where we need very stronggovernment guidance (in my humble opinion). Markets left to their owndevices will make quick shifts in where commodity crops go. If we aregoing to shift more agriculture to domestic consumption, I believethere is some inherent moral obligation to ease foreign nations off ofour corn, rice and other export crops rather than just ripping thebottom out of the market and letting all fare for themselves. Keep inmind, farmers in the US dislike the export market because of itsinherent variability. A home grown crop is often better suited to abiofuels market. The variability in fuel price is generally an upwardtrend. As farmers bet their futures based on markets, the safer bet astime goes on will be to sell into a domestic fuels market - that goesfor the US and other countries. The only exception is countries thathave saturated their own fuels market with biofuels (maybe only Brazilhas done this). Also, since this is such a "hot" topic, I recommendfurther reading. The following article by Michael Pollan, author of"The Botany of Desire," is very insightful in building the backgroundof Mexico's corn dilemma: http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2004/04/26_corn.shtml